President Trump was asked by a reporter Tuesday in Pennsylvania, “The Department of War is asking for $80 billion more for the Iran war. Do you think Americans support this at a time when so many are financially struggling?” The President responded by asking the reporter, “Who are you with?”
When the reporter replied, “NewsNation, sir,” the President said, “Not a very good group. Not doing very well,” and then answered her question by saying: “Not only do they support it, not only do they support it, they demand it, because they won’t allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. You want to see trouble, let them have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump added, “We’re doing very well with Iran, they’ve been decimated, and we’re making a deal with them, and we’ll see how that all goes.”
Q: The Dept of War is asking for $80b more for the Iran war. Do you think Americans support this at a time when so many are financial struggling?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 23, 2026
TRUMP: Who are you with?
Q: NewsNation, sir
TRUMP: Not a very good group. Not doing very well. Not only do they support it, they… pic.twitter.com/kGtMnqTFuW
Vice President JD Vance is in Switzerland negotiating with Iran — with Qatar and Pakistan as mediators — and has asserted from there that Iran has agreed to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect its nuclear facilities, an assertion echoed by Trump.
As former Vice President Mike Pence has cautioned Vance to “verify, but not trust” the Iranians during the negotiations, The New York Times reported Tuesday that there are discrepancies between accounts of what has been agreed to in Switzerland.
According to the Times: “President Trump said Iran had agreed to the ‘highest level’ inspections, hours after an Iranian official said there were ‘no detailed discussions on the nuclear issue,’ as the two sides continued to present different narratives of their latest talks.”
Some Republicans have been critical of Trump’s handling of Iran, especially concerning the lifting of American sanctions and the opening of the global markets to Iranian oil sales. Others have addressed the multiple costs of the war, both through the direct cost of the Pentagon’s actions — estimated at near $40 billion so far — and through the disruptive economic pain the war has caused Americans at the gas pumps and beyond.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) raised similar concerns about Americans financially struggling when he posted on social media Tuesday that “the American people are barely able to afford life. They’re saying—shouting—that they’re struggling. We need to deliver for them NOW.”
